You might not be able to touch it or even live in it, but the metaverse is gaining real life momentum, with Douglas Elliman’s Oren and Tal Alexander set to become the first luxury brokers of the virtual real estate world.
On Friday various news outlets reported the brothers, known as the Alexander Team, had partnered with Republic Realm with plans to develop and sell property in an “architecturally significant master-planned community” in the virtual world.
Last week Republic Realm made headlines when they paid an eye watering $4.3 million for an allotment in The Sandbox metaverse.
Republic Realm are also renowned as the creator of Fantasy Islands, an early real estate NFT project which has clocked up some of the highest-grossing NFT ventures on record.
The Real Deal explains Fantasy Island recently sold a virtual “mega yacht” in the metaverse for 149 Ethereum, or the equivalent of about $650,000 at the time.
Meanwhile, the Alexander Team initially became famous for their real-world megadeals.
For the past two years they have been Douglas Elliman’s top performers, and are considered among New York and Miami’s highest-grossing residential real estate brokers, with a client list that ranges from Ken Griffin to Kanye West.
Now, they are looking to start doing deals in the virtual world, where they plan to focus on luxury prestige properties.
“We want to just focus on trophy properties in the various metaverses,” Oren Alexander told the Real Deal.
Their collection of luxury virtual properties will span The Sandbox, Decentraland and at least one other unidentified metaverse, and will carry the Alexander Team branding, Oren Alexander said.
The Alexander brothers reportedly already invest in cryptocurrency and have their own digital property.
The move into selling metaverse property is inspired by their own interests and inquiries from existing clients.
“We believe heavily in this metaverse digital real estate world,” Oren said.
“The world has changed, society has changed people — especially the younger generation, who are not only gaming in the digital world, but to some extent living in the digital world.”
Janine Yorio, co-founder of Republic Realm, told the Real Deal early investors in digital property are “pioneers and visionaries” who stand to benefit most as the metaverse expands.
“They understand that if you get in early, something like the metaverse can be enormously profitable,” she said.
Team Alexander’s entrance into metaverse property sales adds credibility to a trend that is rapidly gaining pace, with virtual properties now commanding high price tags.
Just prior to the Republic Realm virtual land purchase, Tokens.com bought a virtual block of land in Decentraland for $2.4 million.
The metaverse is an online space where 3D worlds can connect and people, in the form of avatars, can do things like work, shop, play games and buy property.
